Thursday, March 1, 2012

We’ve been promising a Twitter chat for a few weeks now and now we’ve finally gotten all the details together. If you missed my article two weeks ago I gave you a quick rundown on what a Twitter chat is and how we hope to use it.

This time around I wanted to try to answer many of the questions I expect will come up.

What is a Twitter chat?

Read this and this to get a good background. Or just join us to see what happens.

When will it happen?

Every Tuesday morning from 10-11am (pst), starting March 13th.

Will there be a structure?

Claire (@embergrass) will be the host most of the time, with the support of both Lisa (@tickleandsmash) and I (@lightboxsf). This means we’ll be making sure the conversation keeps flowing by asking questions of the group, retweeting great bits of info, and directly engaging participants.

We will have a theme each week that will be posted on the blog, most likely the Friday or Monday before. We also have a google doc set up that any of you can use to suggest a topic. After the chat a recap will also be posted to the blog with highlights from the chat.

How do I join?

It’s really quite simple. Log on to Twitter during the chat time and do a search for #sfetsy. You’ll see the conversation happening in real time. To jump in, just write a post as you normally would, but make sure put #sfetsy in your tweet.

To make following along a little easier there are two recommended tools. The first is tweetchat.com. Just go to the website, set up an account and then search for #sfetsy. Not only does Tweetchat.com make following along a little easier it also automatically adds #sfetsy or whatever hashtag you’re using to your tweets. You can follow new people you meet from this screen, pause the feed if you need to catch up, retweet and reply quickly.

Tweetdeck is also another great option. You can either download the program or access it directly via the web if you’re using Chrome or Safari. Again you need to set up an account that links to your Twitter account. Then you can set up a column that follows #sfetsy in addition to your full feed, mentions, or whatever else you want to keep tabs on.

Can I just say whatever I want?

We will have a topic for each chat, however we also expect the chat to flow like a normal conversation. This means other things will come up that you want to say or share. You also might “see” someone on the chat you haven’t connected with in a long time, go ahead and say hi. All we ask is that you keep it relevant to the chat or Etsy users and be nice. Also make sure to include #sfetsy with every post you want to be a part of the chat.

Do I have to say anything?

No you don’t, you can just follow along and gain the knowledge that everyone else is sharing. However, you will get more out of it by participating. Most importantly participating allows you to connect with new people who may very well become valuable connections later. We encourage you to at least introduce yourself.

Can I contact people afterwards?

Twitter chats are primarily about connecting and sharing information, so yes, you certainly can send a tweet to someone after the chat with a question or introducing yourself, just make sure to let them why you’re contacting them so it doesn’t seem spammy.

Do I need to sign up?

There is no need to sign up before hand, just say hi once you’ve joined the chat, even if you join late.

Do I have to be a part of SFEtsy?

It’s certainly not necessary, but some of the topics or information shared will be locally based. However I imagine anyone selling on Etsy will benefit a little from all of the discussions we have.

If you have any other questions feel free to post in the comments or send them directly my way.

Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her. If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!